(They Were) Born Heroes
by Ensign Anna
Summary: Doom's plan was to go back in time, to the first moment when the Avengers started to unite. He planned to stop the Avengers from ever forming. What he didn't know was that even if the Avengers didn't have their powers, they would still defeat him. As Thor says, they were born heroes.
**A/N: This is based on the Avengers Assemble (Disney XD) episode "Planet Doom." It'll be easier to understand if you watch or at least look at the summary of the episode, but not necessary.**

 **Please R & R, and enjoy!**

 **Bullseye – Clint Barton/Hawkeye**

 **Black Bride – Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow**

 **Snap – Sam Wilson/Falcon**

 **Sling – Peter Parker/Spiderman**

 **.**

 **.**

Afghanistan was not a place that Tony Stark liked to remember.

Sure, it had started out fine. He had successfully given the demonstration of the Jericho missile, the entire reason he was in this sandy country. He had gotten into his assigned jeep and told himself that it was all over. He could relax now.

Then the explosions came.

One moment he had been in a tank with a trio of friendly soldiers casually taking pictures with them, and the next he was hiding behind a rock as bullets rained down around him. His eyes widened as a bomb landed neatly in front of him, the logo of _Stark Industries_ clearly visible.

How he hated his life.

But suddenly, appearing out of nowhere, a man in a metal mask and a green cape appeared above him. Tony's eyes widened when he saw the shrapnel that trickled out of the metal hand, realizing that if it wasn't for this man, he probably would have died.

When the metal man reached out a hand, Tony did the most sensible thing he could think of doing at the time.

He took it.

Later, he learned this man's name was Victor Von Doom. He wanted to rule the world, and since Tony owed his life to him, he wanted the inventor to help him.

Tony agreed timidly, vowing that when Doom took his rule, Tony would be the first to shoot him down.

He never did like politicians.

…

Bruce Banner shared a nervous look with Betty Ross as he prepared to start the experiment. He could feel General Ross boring holes in the back of his neck, and he nervously fiddled with the dials as the machine powered up.

"It'll work perfectly," Betty told him, giving him a reassuring squeeze on the arm.

Bruce gave her a nervous smile in response. "Thanks, Betty." He took a deep breath. "Okay, let's get this over with."

He hadn't know that a certain metal man suddenly appeared in the shadows of the experimentation room, having slipped through security with ease.

Then everything went wrong.

Bruce screamed as the energy and radiation surrounded him, hands wrapping around his head. He felt dizzy and in pain and _angry_. He felt something stir in his mind, as if awoken, and it threatened to come out, to overwhelm and control and _smash_ -

The energy was abruptly shut off, and Bruce fell to his knees, still in pain. It wanted to come free, to protect puny Banner and _destroy_ -

"Quickly, get him into this containment suit!" A voice he didn't recognize commanded. "He is leaking gamma radiation!" The other scientists remained frozen, terrified as they cowered in a corner. Ross and Betty were gone from the observation room, and Bruce knew it was only a matter of time before they arrived.

"Put this on, doctor," a man said behind him, and as he turned the metal man held out an orange suit. "It will stop the voice in your head."

Bruce did as he commanded, and as soon as it sealed around him he began to feel calmer and more in control. "W-What happened?" He asked, still a bit shaky, wishing he could fiddle with his glasses. "And who are you?" He slowly stood up, cautious.

"I am Victor Doom, and as for what happened, I need your help. I'll explain everything on the way."

He was quickly led away by Doom, past a protesting Betty and a demanding Ross, and after a short plane ride, was introduced to Tony.

"Stark? Like, THE Stark?" Bruce asked as the two of them walked in on the genius. "As in, Tony Stark genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Stark?"

The man in question turned around, a smile on his lips that looked more genuine than the ones the billionaire used to give for the magazines. "It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner," Tony told him, completely ignoring the orange suit and shaking his hand. "Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled-"

"Introductions later, Stark," Doom snapped as he finished checking on the progress of whatever Tony was working on. "Show Banner the ropes, and continue on working. I'm on a schedule."

Tony rolled his eyes but obligingly showed the other scientist what he was working on as Doom turned walked out.

"Oh, and Stark?"

The tone of voice made both scientists turn.

"Do not work on the arc repulsor technology while I am gone. If you do…" He left in the ominous silence.

Judging by the bored look on Tony's face, Bruce surmised that Doom made a lot of threats to the inventor. "Where's he going?" he asked curiously, as they turned back towards the holograms.

"Looking for some assassin from what I've heard," Tony replied off-handedly. "Dunno if he'll actually find her or not, though."

"Don't worry about it." He gave Bruce a pat on the back, showing him a grin. "Now let's start _accidently_ blowing stuff up. Shall we play, doctor?"

…

"So you are the Black Widow?" Doom asked, staring at women seated across from him.

Natasha nodded.

"Is the KGB-"

"I no longer work for the KGB," she smoothly cut it. "I am freelance. You said you wanted my services, so I am here to offer them." She neglected to mention the fact that she had recently joined SHIELD with the aid of a certain archer, but decided that I could wait.

Doom leaned forward. "I don't like to play around, Romanoff. I'm going to take over this world, and I want you to help me."

She blinked, breaking her cool demeanor for a short moment before schooling her features once again. "Take over the world, Victor?" She asked. "Seems like a heavy order, even for you."

"That is why I need your services," he continued. "My soldiers are almost in place, and soon I will rule earth. But-" He sighed knowingly. "-There are some who will try to oppose me. Resistors, if you will. I need you to keep them in line."

"And what will I receive in return for my skills?"

She could see the grin behind his mask. "You get to live, of course."

"Then I must accept," she easily replied. She leaned forward, causing Doom to snap back. She smoothly slid from her chair to the table, then onto Doom's lap. "As your second-in-command, of course."

He paused for a moment, thinking. "A woman would be questioned in such a position..."

"But?" She prompted.

"Your name... How do you feel about becoming the Black Bride, Romanoff?" Doom asked.

She managed to keep her features cool this time. "I do not care, Victor. I only care about being on the winning side."

"Well then," he said, smiling. "You have come to the right place."

He got up, Natasha sliding easily off his lap. He opened the door. "New York, you know where to go. I will tell them to expect you."

"Will you be there?" She asked.

"I have…other business to attend to. I will return once I have finished."

She nodded, and started to leave, but stopped when he grabbed her arm. "Be warned, my dear, that I have contacts with the KGB who would love to have their precious assassin back. Do you understand?"

She bristled slightly, but nodded. "Of course, Victor." Before he could say anything else, she slipped into the night.

She tried to figure out on the way back to her hotel room if Doom really was so stupid, or if he knew something she didn't. He had played right into her hands, allowing her into his inner ranks, which probably meant he was very sure of himself. That was worrying.

She tensed as she opened the door to her room, sensing someone in the room with her, but paused as she recognized the man dozing on the bed.

"Clint Barton."

The man on the bed blearily opened his eyes and smiled. "Nat. I was wondering when you would come back."

She sighed. "What are you doing here, Bullseye?" She asked, moving to sit on the end of the bed. "I thought you were in Spain."

"Word got around that you were in France. I just wanted to say hi." He grinned. "Hi. Honey." Then his face turned serious. "Got any news from _him_?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't suppress the yawn that came forth. He looked at her knowingly and held out his hands. After a moment's hesitation, she willingly let him lead her head to his lap. He started to stroke her hair, and against all odds, she felt herself relax.

"I heard you met with Doom today," Clint told her after a moment. "Fury thinks he's finally gonna make his move."

She nodded. "He approached me with an 'accept or die' offer." She smirked. "Of course, I accepted it."

"Good," he answered, sounding pleased. "We'll need that. I'll tell Fury."

They fell into a companionable silence, which was broken when Natasha said, "He changed my name."

There was a breath of laughter and a _go on_ hand waved in the corner of her eye.

"He wants me to be his, well…" She paused. "I'm to be _his_ Black Bride." She scoffed. "He thinks he can control me."

"Only one person I know can do that, baby," he reminded her, his eyes sparkling on the edge of her vision. "And that gorgeous person has her head on her lap."

She batted at him, managing to catch his cheek slightly, before relaxing again. She hesitated for a moment, before deciding it couldn't hurt to add, "He threatened to send me back to Dmitri. Since he already found me once, I have no doubt he could do it again. I don't really have a choice."

He tensed for a moment, before calming. "Can I put an arrow in his eye, dear?" He pleaded half-heartedly.

"No." She barred her teeth. "I want to show him how hard the Black Widow, excuse me, the Black _Bride_ can bite."

"What position did Doom give you?"

"Bodyguard." She gave a huff of frustration. "I can't tell if he's really that stupid and thinks I'll do whatever he wants, or-"

"-Or he doesn't think it'll matter," Clint finished, gently leading her head up so she could sit up on the bed. "I hope it's not the latter."

"Me, too." She looked at him. "Clint, Fury told me that if I got the double agent position, then…" She trailed off.

"I'm supposed to be the outlaw," he supplied. "Are we still gonna-"

She gave him a look. "I'm not doing this completely on my own, Barton. I need you _and_ your contacts. An inside only works with an outside. Besides," she told him, looking sure, "I'm sure Fury won't mind."

He straightened slightly at the hidden compliment, but nodded. "Got it. I'll assemble my people, you assemble yours."

"I'll infiltrate with the others into his ranks. It's your job to be the more public front. Fury's orders."

"Got it. Do you, uh…" He trailed off awkwardly for a moment hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. "Can you stay awhile?"

She gave him a look.

"Don't look at me like that!" he protested. "I was just wondering if you would like to-"

She cut him off with a heated kiss, throwing all her held back emotions at him. He stiffened for a moment before melting into it. But before he could move the rest of his body, she lightly shoved him away and stood up, smirking at the disheveled look on his face.

"Tasha!" He complained. "What are you- You can't just leave me like that!" He opened his mouth to say something, but she held up a finger.

"No. Grab your stuff and go. Make your rendezvous before Fury sends Coulson after us."

Clint made a pouty face, which Natasha did _not_ think looked adorable on him, and moved to put on his shoes that were by the bed. He slid off the bed and grabbed his bow and quiver, moving towards the window while mumbling something about _red heads who start what they won't finish_.

Before he could leave through the window, she reeled him in for one last kiss that only lasted a few seconds. Any longer, she knew, and he wouldn't leave. "Don't think that just because my boss is a tyrant who's hitting on me, you can go off and do whatever you want, Clint."

"I know, darling," he replied, tone now light and knowing, all traces of any other emotion erased from his face. "I'll be careful."

"Stay safe," she told the wind as he disappeared out of the window. She watched him slink away until he was out of sight. Then she shut and locked it, and turned around.

She had people to contact, and a Director of SHIELD to call.

…

"You better have a good reason for calling me tonight," Doom bit out as he angrily glared at the wall across from his bed. "A _very_ good reason."

" _Sir, we found him!"_

He lurched up. "You found Captain America?"

" _Yes, sir! He was in the exact coordinates you sent us, which is kind of strange-"_

"Are you sure it's him?" Doom interrupted.

" _Well, the uniform's from the right time, and it looks like him_ -" The man on the line paused. Doom could hear voices talking excitedly in the background.

"What is happening?" He asked after a moment.

There was no answer.

"CASTLE!"

There was a scuffle on the other end. _"Sir, we're getting life readings! We started the defrost process, and the body is showing signs of-"_

"You're defrosting him?" Doom spat. "I never ordered you to do that!"

" _But sir! The longer he's frozen-"_

"Leave him frozen, and _keep_ him frozen while you transport him to New York, understand? I will be there shortly."

There was a long pause. _"Yes, sir."_

He hung up with a sigh and settled back into his covers with a smile. He had almost all of the Avengers in his grasp now. Stark and Banner were now his Brain Trust, safely busy with his projects. The Black Widow- ( _Bride_ , he reminded himself. _Bride_ ) –was working for him, and Captain America would remain safely out of the picture unfrozen. It was only a matter of time before Hawkeye and Falcon showed themselves, and he was almost prepared for when Thor would come down from Asgard.

All was going to plan.

…

The prophecy goes as follows:

 _When the Earth falls by Doom's mighty hand,_

 _The thunderer will come and save the land._

 _The salvation with power will come alone,_

 _And his hammer will knock Doom off his throne._

 _He is the only man Doom does fear,_

 _Waking the heroes who gather near._

 _And as Doom tries to rule over all,_

 _The heroes will unite to the call._

 _A new era of freedom for all to see,_

 _Rewritten to what it was meant to be._

…

There was a click as the call connected.

" _Password?"_

"Trickshot."

There was a minute of silence.

" _Report."_

"A kid named Sam Wilson came up, gonna call him Snap. Another named Peter Parker, or Slinger, was with him. I've got a man who'll supply some goods for us, as well as the other nests, but that's about it right now. You?"

" _I have got a man who calls himself Frank Castle, codename Punisher. A few others as well. Intel was correct, and both Stark and Banner are in the building. Doom found Captain America somehow, but he is keeping the man frozen. Do you have a location for your base?"_

"It's, uh, where the Helicarrier went down. Some of the tech works, so Sam can rig some kind of cloaking device. I think both Coulson and Fury would approve."

There was a sigh on the line, one of understanding. _"You miss them, don't you?"_

"They would have known what to do in a situation like this. We're kind of in the dark here now that they're…gone. So, yeah, I do." A pause. "By the way, you read the prophecy?"

" _I do not care about the stupid writing. Doom was not pleased. But-"_ There was another pause. _"It felt very familiar. As if I will have a part in it."_

"Me, too. Weird…"

" _It does not matter. Stark is making me a mask to wear on Doom's insistence. To be more like him, I think. It is…annoying."_

"Hope it won't cover up that beautiful face of yours."

" _Flatterer. Black Bride out,_ милая."

"Bullseye out, _honey_."

…

When a blonde long-haired man with a hammer dropped from the sky, Sam Wilson, aka Snap, wondered if he was the man the prophecy had said who would come.

He had been out with Peter and Clint, slinking in the shadows and causing general mayhem to any Doombot that flew by. It was their job to be the pubic front, so he was doing what he did best.

Blowing things up.

Doombots especially.

The man, who he discovered was called Thor, seemed to know all of their names, and also seemed to be extremely confused. He kept saying about how 'this wasn't right,' and 'what happened while I was gone.' He had begun to doubt the man, thinking that Thor was a spy, or at least a man who had lost of few of his marbles.

Then he saw Thor fight.

The man was amazing. The way he seemed to predict what way the Doombots were going to fly and attack, and had easily taken them out, made Sam realize that maybe there was more to this man then met the eye. When Thor summoned lightning, incinerating the remaining Doombots, it had been hard to keep his mouth from hanging open in envy. (And maybe, if he were being honest, a bit of fanboy, too.)

"No one call him a dumb blonde again, agreed," Clint quipped, and Sam agreed wholeheartedly.

That man hit like a man who had nothing to lose. And, considering his words, he probably didn't.

He told Thor about the prophecy, and although he didn't show it, he hoped that Thor was the one. But for that would happen, there would need to be a miracle.

A really, REALLY big miracle.

Then he had gotten knocked out.

He really hated the Black Bride.

When he woke up, they had arrived at the Helicarrier. He followed Thor in as Clint and Peter checked on the stealth shields. When Peter aimed his guns at the god, his 'sense' telling him something was wrong, Sam was quick to take his side, suspicion almost overwhelming now.

"Paranoia is what's kept us alive this long, Barton," he reminded the archer, crossing his arms when clint tried to defend Thor. Why hadn't this 'god' come long ago, back when they _really_ needed him? It could only mean that this was a plant of some kind, which wasn't good.

Clint told Thor how Doom came to rule, bringing to mind painful memories of everyone around him dying. Of him running because Fury told him to. _You have the front now, Barton and Wilson. Don't fail me. Don't fail the world._

"You were all the Avengers!" Thor denied vehemently. "Heroes of great power!"

That stirred something in Sam. Memories that seemed…far away. _He desperately thrusting wires into…someone's…chest, trying to save him…her…and the blast lit up the entire room and she…no…HE…lurched up and said "That was something-"_

Doom attacked almost immediately after the memory faded. Sam fought like a demon, partly in anger for all that Doom did to this world, and partly just to show Thor his moves.

He thought it was safe to say that the god was marginally impressed, even after he got knocked out again by Doom's stupid arc reactor and gamma radiation tech.

When he woke up from being thrown against a wall and knocked unconscious, he was in a dark cell by himself with a pounding headache. He groaned, and someone spoke from the cell next to him.

"'Bout time, Aurora. You get your beauty sleep?" Peter quipped snidely, obviously grumpy.

"Lay off, Sling," Clint snapped from the cell on Sam's other side. "You okay, Snap?"

"Doom packs one heck of a punch," Sam joked. "He even managed to take down Thor."

There was a single moment of heavy silence.

"How can Thor be the one?" Peter asked angrily. "He led Doom right to us!"

"If what he said was true, then he has to be," Clint replied eventually.

"But if he isn't-"

"Sling!"

Peter stopped talking.

Clint sighed. "Just stick to the plan, okay? For this to work, we need everyone to work together. Just…Please?"

No reply.

Sam paused, thinking. "For them?"

This time Peter sighed. "Fine. But that pirate still owes me."

"How come you never called him a pirate when he was alive?" Clint asked, curious.

"It is a nickname that would be rude and insulting to call him it, or so I was told."

"You thought he would murder you in your sleep."

"…That too. I mean, he _did_ know where I lived."

Sam smiled slightly and leaned back as he listened to Peter and Clint banter. The wait wouldn't be too long; most likely Doom would want their execution to be as soon as possible. He just hoped that _someone_ had a plan to get them out of here.

Sadly, he sure didn't.

…

He called Natasha as soon as he heard she got back.

" _Have you discovered the hammer's secret yet, Stark?"_ She asked, sounding annoyed. _"We are on a schedule."_

He noted the use of his last name, and switched from 'we're gonna betray Doom' mode to 'Doom is really awesome' mode. "Not yet." He twisted around and glanced at Bruce, who was running tests. "It's got some kind of shield, the magic no doubt. We could really-"

" _I'll ask him,"_ she cut in shortly, cutting him off. There was a moment of dead comm as Tony waited. Then there was a click.

" _-ark's agitated, again,"_ Natasha finished saying. Doom appeared on Tony's screen. _"Stark, have you released the thunderer's weapon yet?"_ Doom asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

He barely held back the snort. "Hardly. For a hammer it's complicated as heck." He paused, unsure of whether or not to ask, but decided that it couldn't hurt. "We could use the blonde boy here down here for a consult. Assuming you haven't, ya know, disintegrated him." Tony gave a small grin before turning the comm off.

"Goading Doom about that guy won't make anything better, Tony," Bruce reminded him as he walked past the inventor, eyes intent on the screen currently scanning the hammer that Doom had retrieved. They were supposed to figure out how to make it possible for Doom to wield it, but so far nothing they tried had worked.

"True," Tony allowed, "but it sure does make this lab a lot more interesting. Pepper-" There was a brief break in his voice, one that the other scientist kindly took no notice of "-always said that a bored Stark is a dangerous one."

Bruce just shook his head, ignoring the Doombots stationed all around the room to make sure they didn't do anything _too_ illegal. They had been there since the last _accidental_ explosion, which Tony had to admit had been _awesome_. Bruce walked over to the far side of the room, helmet already slipping back to its, as Tony liked to call it, 'isolation' mode. Tony started typing on the computer again, for a moment actually concentrating on the task at hand.

Suddenly, the doors swished open, and the blonde-haired man walked in along with Natasha and Doom. Tony put on his trademark smile and started rolling out the nicknames and references. "Viking guy. Dress rehearsal for the-" he paused, grasping for the word as he gave the man a look over "-opera today?"

The blonde man's look was one of slight annoyance, as if he had been teased by him before. But then it switched to one of anger and desperation as he launched forward. He seemed to be trying to call the hammer weapon to his hand, which Tony found fascinating, even as he held the man back and told him to not break a vein. He said something in reply to Thor, but his mind was full of ideas and calculations. What if he enhanced his arc repulsor tech to do that? To be able to summon it by the wave of a hand would-

He was snapped back to reality when the god seemed to be feeling his chest, and Tony felt a tad defensive as he explained how he had come to work for Doom. Seriously, what was making this god all riled up?

"Doom saved my life," he explained, and told Thor the story of what had happened in Afghanistan. He did his best to make it sound most Doom-worshiping as it could. He knew that if Doom smelled even the slightest bit of rebellion, he wouldn't hesitate to take drastic measures.

They learned that when Fury and Coulson were killed.

"This is the one, huh?" Bruce asked, putting his isolation mode down so they could see his face. "Pretty puny." The doctor laughed when Thor told him to unleash the Hulk, and although Tony completely understood, he kind of wished he could see the Other Guy for himself. He had asked Bruce one time, but the scientist had declined. The Other Guy was a monster, after all.

When Thor and Doom went off to the side after a bit more arguing, most likely to talk about something super-secret, Natasha, Tony, and Bruce pretended to be busy with something on the computer. In reality, they were listening. They all strained their ears, and Tony managed to catch a few words of the conversation on the other side of the room.

 _-time-_

 _-extraordinary powers-_

 _-outside time stream-_

 _-stopped from being heroes-_

 _-MY heroes-_

"Plan's a go," Natasha mumbled out of the corner of her mouth, breaking the inventor's concentration. He blinked, and turned his head slightly to look at her.

"What?" Tony asked, just as quiet. "How do we know he's the one?" He hated being so negative, the big guy seemed very adamant about his claims, but they couldn't afford to make a mistake.

"Barton said-"

"NAY!" Came a shout from the other side of the room. "YOU SHALL NOT CORRUPT ASGARD!"

Tony craned his head to look at the shouting god, but quickly looked back down at his work when Thor was thrown across the room by Doom. The god looked up at them, expression once again desperate.

"Banner, Stark, are you blind? Doom rules all with an iron fist! If you help him maintain that hold-"

Tony did his best to block it all out, but when Thor was electrocuted by his own tech, he couldn't help but give a small wince of sympathy.

"There is no winning _this time_ ," Doom stated, his voice a bit smug. "If the fool refuses to see it…" He paused for a moment, before turning to look at the three people before him. "Prepare the thunderer and his _Defenders"_ he all but spat the name "for termination."

As Doom swept out of the room, the inventor caught Bruce's eye. Tony, in turn, caught Natasha's, before looking at the empty space where Doom had been moments before.

With a quiet sigh, Tony turned back towards the computer with Bruce as Natasha summoned robots to carry Thor away.

If the plan was a go, then he had work to finish.

…

As Thor was chained to the two poles, arm hung high, in preparation for his execution for the whole world to see, he felt a pang of sadness as he watched the other Defenders get the same treatment.

Perhaps, what his father said was true. Perhaps, humanity was weak. And now, he would pay for it with his life.

But even as he thought of the evils his friends had done in the name of Doom, he also remembered the good the Avengers had done for all their world. "No," he stated, before raising his voice to tell humanity to be brave, and to fight as he knew they could. As he had seen they could.

For a moment, he thought it had worked.

But when no one said anything after he was done, and Doom only laughed, he felt the sadness wash away. Replaced by…anger. At Doom, for corrupting the people he had stood by for years. He glared hatefully at the gun as it was aimed towards him, and a small part of him was glad it was over.

"CASTLE, NOW!"

And then everything dissolved into chaos.

The man with a black cloak over him who had been about to shoot Thor suddenly whipped the fabric off, and started to mow down the rapidly growing amount of Doombots down with the blasts from his gun. Thor's heart swelled when he saw Natasha take off her mask, "Sorry, Victor, but I'd rather be a _widow_ than your bride!" and he watched in astonishment as she weaved in and out of the shots fired by the Doombots. "BRAIN BOYS, NOW!"

"No more playacting, Victor," Tony said with a smile as he appeared on the large screen that had been showing an execution only moments before. The inventor's hand pressed something behind him, looking smug. The rest of the screens all over the city shut down, and Thor nearly gasped aloud as he felt Mjolnir break free and start her journey back to him, magic thrumming through their bond.

Natasha ran to his side and quickly broke his bonds with her mask. "We've waited a long time for you to get here," she told him, voice hard. "You're the only thing he's ever feared." She quickly ran to Clint. "Get the Defenders their weapons," she called. "And _don't_ disappoint us."

Thor looked up as he felt Mjolnir come closer, and braced himself. Around him, the Defenders began to take the Doombots down at a steady pace, their weapons now returned.

Speaking of which…

He nearly grinned when he saw her break free of the building's wall. "MJOLNIR, TO ME!" He shouted.

"Fool!" Doom snapped, blasting Thor with his arc repulsors. The god fell back with a yell of pain, cursing himself inwardly for his arrogance. He had forgotten how weak his body currently was, and now, because of his ignorance, Doom had the upper hand. He felt himself grow weaker and weaker by the radiation, and he cursed the confines of the powerless body he now had because of Mjolnir being taken. He opened his eyes just long enough to see the Defenders (no, the Avengers, it should be the Avengers) gather around him, looks of horror on their faces.

"My friends," he croaked. "Avengers. Fight on," he whispered, before closing his eyes.

…

Peter Parker, aka Sling, stared at Natasha as she knelt by Thor's side, at a loss for words, and caught Sam's eye for a second.

 _We're doomed,_ it said.

"I have defeated the last one to oppose me," Doom gloated. "And now, I wield his power!"

Peter watched impassively as Doom tried to life Mjolnir, and couldn't dispel the small spark of satisfaction he felt whenever the tyrant couldn't lift it.

 _That's for Thor,_ he silently said. _And for Phil and Nick._

Not that it made much of a difference now.

Briefly, he wondered if it would give him any satisfaction to strangle Doom right then and there. He hadn't truly _avenged_ Aunt May and MJ yet, nor any of the other people who were killed by this monster.

Now would be a good time to start, he supposed.

"Impossible!" Doom shouted, trying in vain to life the hammer.

"That's one thing you never understood about us _mere humans_ , Victor," Natasha said quietly. Doom spun around to look at her, and both Peter and Clint tensed. "We don't _believe_ in impossible."

Peter's eyes widened as he saw her grab an electric bullet from her Bride's Bite. She grasped it in her hands and her eyes turned to begging.

"Please work!" She mumbled, before thrusting the bullet onto Thor's chest. All Peter could think was _Why did she do that he's dead-_

Then Thor lurched up with a gasp and suddenly it was _Oh thank you, thank you!_

"MJOLNIR!" Thor shouted, and as the storm converged the god was once again at full force as the hammer hit his hand.

Peter had to smile as he saw Thor once the light faded. He saw Tony sneak around to stand by them, and nearly wanted to give a shout of happiness. When Thor yelled "AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE!" he felt a sense of, well, _rightness_ when they ran and fought as one.

"Avengers _does_ have a nice ring to it," Clint quipped as they easily surrounded Doom and started to attack, and he couldn't agree more.

"No!" Doom shouted. "All these years of planning! All I've accomplished!" He barely deflected their shots, and was thrown to the side of the platform by Clint's arrow. "I will just have to try again. This time, I will get it right," he insisted, ripping an arrow off his armor and grabbing onto a robot, flying to the top of the tower.

"Uh, oh," Sam mumbled next to Peter as Thor said "Time machine!"

When Tony gave a noise of confusion as he looked up, Peter was eager to join in.

…

Bruce slipped into the time machine room as Doom mumbled to himself and began to type on the computers there.

"Without their powers, they are nothing before Doom!"

When the machine was just about to put Doom back in time, the scientist slipped and typed something quickly on the console. The machine immediately powered down, and Doom looked around it confusion. "What-?"

"Do the powers make the man?" Bruce asked as he turned around. "Or does the man make the power?" He almost smiled when Thor burst through the wall into the room. "DOOOOOM!"

Doom gave a groan of frustration, and Bruce looked at him. "What, you didn't think I knew about your secret time machine room?"

"But how?" The other man demanded.

"Because no matter what Stark says, I'm the smartest there is," he said, anger simmering inside of him, all aimed towards Doom. "Plus, it was the only room you never wanted me to see," he finished quite matter-of-factly.

Tony had kind of rubbed off on him.

The tyrant grabbed Bruce by the neck, but the scientist didn't feel any panic or fear. Only anger. But it was a calm anger, one that could be controlled by only him. "You don't want to hit me with the gamma radiation, do ya, Vick?" He asked knowingly, glaring at him through the green glow from Doom's hand. He put his hands up to make air quotes. _"Unleash the monster?"_

"You have miscalculated, Doom," Thor said quietly from behind Doom, whose head turned to look at him. "Powers or no, my friends were born heroes. That will never change!"

Doom froze, but only for a moment. "Nor will I!" He snapped, blasting his repulsor at Thor and throwing Bruce against the wall.

Bruce groaned and held his head in his hands, begging the monster to do _something_ , _anything_ , and he looked up and saw that Thor was trying to get up, too.

"Self-destruct code-" Doom started, and _No, no, no! They were all going to die now after all they did-_

Then a red, white, and blue shield came sailing from the shadows of the room, and Doom was knocked down.

Captain America stood in the doorway, easily catching his shield, and he stared intently at the men in the room. "Tell me I hit the right guy?" He asked.

Bruce can only stare in shock at the captain as Thor grinned.

…

" _No, Bucky!" He shouts as he falls, hands reaching towards his best friend, who is trapped on the missile. "NOOOO!" The missile explodes, and the shockwave blasts him back_

 _He yells as he falls, hateful words to the Red Skull and guilt-ridden words for Bucky. His body hits the water with a loud splash, debris falling around him. He sinks deeper and deeper into the ocean, and his eyes close as he stops fighting, his mind finally realizing that he is about to drown._

 _As the ice forms around him, he wishes he could have said goodbye to everyone._

 _He hates the water and the ice._

 _._

 _He dreams while he….dies? Sleeps? Hallucinates? He can't tell anymore. The coherent part of his brain tells him that he was, no, IS frozen, but the rest only grieves for all he lost. He thinks of Howard and the Commandoes, and of Peggy, sweet, beautiful Peggy, and Bucky. Stupid, brave Bucky who gave his life for him, only to have the sacrifice be completely wasted._

 _He wishes he could cry, but he can't even open his eyes._

 _He hates the ice._

 _._

 _He drifts, thinking of people and things, and wonders if the war is over._

 _And if it is, who won._

 _He'll probably never know._

 _He hates ice._

 _._

 _He feels himself move, the block of ice he must be, in the ocean._

 _Going up or down, he cannot tell._

 _Maybe he'll appear on the shore one day._

 _To be found and saved._

 _Probably not._

 _He hates ice._

 _._

 _Once, he thinks he hears a noise._

 _A sound that breaks the ever-present silence that threatens to turn him mad. He wants to see if it someone, anyone. If something is alive in this sea of cold and ice._

 _But nothing happens, and he soon falls asleep again._

 _He hates ice._

 _._

 _He thinks that many weeks must have gone by. Maybe even months, or years. He hopes that he is found, or that it will end soon._

 _He is tired, so he sleeps, cold thrumming around him._

 _He hates ice._

 _._

 _This time, he hears thumping._

 _It's quiet at first, and for a minute he thinks that it was only his deranged imagination._

 _But then he hears it again._

 _A thump._

 _And…_

 _Voices._

 _He begs, cries, screams in his mind for them to find him. If they leave, he might just lose the small bit of sanity he has left._

 _The sounds fade, and if he could, he would cry._

 _He hates-_

 _He feels himself move, quickly and smoothly, and the shouts get louder. And he knows that he's been found._

 _For a moment, the ice doesn't matter._

 _._

 _While he spends a long time still frozen, and voices speak around him, he marvels at the sound._

 _He feels slightly warm around the edges, and he knows they're trying to unfreeze him. He wonders who they are, and if they'll let him go once they defrost him._

 _But as suddenly as the new feeling of small, small warmth comes, it's replaced by cold as he is frozen again._

 _He starts to doubt, and realizes that he may not ever be unfrozen. He might spend the rest of his life as a trophy, to be paid to see and ogle at. He squeezes his fist, his entire body, using the little bit of warmth he has, trying to do something._

 _Then a small crack appears in the ice next to his left arm and shield, the sound so soft he can barely hear it._

 _He spends all of the time he can on making that crack bigger._

 _He still hates ice._

 _._

 _He flexes over and over again, but it isn't as exciting as it was before._

 _When he finally stops, he wonders where he is. He hears voices, but suddenly they are silenced, and he is alone again._

 _The cold offers him sleep, and betrayed and tired, he agrees._

 _Whoever they are._

 _He hates ice, and them._

 _._

 _Sometimes he hears shouting._

 _Cries of pain and laughter of pure malice._

 _He wonders if there are any good people left._

 _He learned a long time ago that he is a trophy of the bad ones._

 _He hates them._

 _._

 _The cold is cold, as it always has been._

 _Sometimes, he wishes they would just kill him._

 _It would be a small mercy, for him at least._

 _He hates them._

 _._

 _He would have shouted in surprise if he could as he felt himself drop from the place he is held. His mind is on overdrive, wondering what happened._

 _But then he feels it._

 _The crack._

 _It's getting bigger._

 _And then he was pushing, pulling, straining._

 _And then the ice explodes._

 _And he is breaking free at last._

 _He hates ice and them, but now it doesn't matter._

 _It's time to avenge all he lost._

 _._

He sucked in a breath, and for a moment he was hesitant to get up, to even open his eyes. He wanted to lay there, enjoying the feeling of warmth he had long forgotten about.

But then he heard explosions, and the shouts of pain. Suddenly, it doesn't matter that he's finally alive. It doesn't matter that he was finally free, or that he could move now.

It mattered that someone needed his help.

He was moving without thinking, and his eyes opened as he ran. Crossing his fingers, he threw the shield at the man who was hurting others.

"Tell me I hit the right guy?" He asked, his tone a bit hopeful.

The grin he gets from the man with the helmet is answer enough, and he let out a sigh of relief.

After all.

He _is_ Captain America.

…

"Reports comin' in from all over the globe," Tony reported as they gathered on the landing pad. "Doom's network is fallin' apart."

"So what happens next?" Clint asked.

"We will make it right," Thor replied with a small smile. "That's what heroes do."

Natasha watched in interest as Thor and Tony talked about time. Thor was to go back, back to the moment when Doom first tried the time machine. He would sabotage it, and keep it from ever working. Then, Doom would never be able to do this again.

It was a good idea, if it actually worked.

But even if it did, they wouldn't remember ever working for Doom, because, technically, it never would have happened. They would go back to being, as Thor explained, 'Avengers.'

She just hoped that she knew Clint in the timeline Thor explained. Based on Thor's knowing looks in their direction as the archer leaned slightly towards her, she guessed that she did.

Her eyes met Clint's and she wished she had pulled him aside while the Thor, Bruce, and Steve had been dealing with Doom. He was good at hiding things, and she really needed to make sure he was alright. She hadn't seen them since their meeting in France, only exchanging brief status calls, and she had missed him.

More than she would have liked to admit.

Clint's eyes flickered to Steve, and she glanced at the long-lost captain. The man seemed…comfortable. Confused, no doubt, and lost, as well. But he seemed at ease, even though he had never met them before.

She had to admit, the name 'Avengers…' It had felt right. She just hoped that time would be normal again, whatever 'normal' was. She almost laughed when Thor called them heroes, the name foreign to her ears, but when the god launched up into the sky to save the timeline, she felt hope grow in her chest.

Hope in knowing that Thor was going to finish what they had started all those years ago in Spain.

She turned to Clint, suddenly desperate to feel his arms around her body one last time, because Thor might fail, and they might never be freed from Doom. He was a bit surprised, but willingly wrapped his arms around her petite frame, her head resting on his chest. She almost laughed as Steve and Bruce, the gentlemen they were, averted their eyes, as Tony made cat-calls, and Sam took Peter to the side to explain what was happening.

"Thank you," he whispered softly, too soft for anyone except her to hear, "for everything."

She nearly wanted to cry at the amount of trust in his voice, and didn't trust herself to speak. She just nodded and hugged him tighter. Suddenly her head jerked up and their lips met, and it was perfect and everything she loved and wanted and-

There was a bright flash of light, and they held on

As

Time

Changed

And

Brought

Back

The

Avengers

.

.

.

.

 **Epilogue**

Thor flew towards Avengers Tower after successfully sabotaging Doom's device, hoping that all was back to normal. Because if it wasn't and some other villain had done something…

When he arrived at the tower, though, he had nothing to fear.

"You almost blew up the tower," Natasha chastened, glaring at the soldier standing in front of her.

"I increased the training levels," Steve replied, defending himself. Tony watched from behind the captain, amused smile on his lips. "We all need to be better prepared."

"Prepared to what?" Sam asked, striding up to stand next to Natasha, arms going up into a shrug. "Get squashed?"

"Focus people," Clint demanded, walking in with his ice cream maker in hand. "Someone owes me a new ice cream maker." He pointed at Steve with the broken handle. "Not cool."

"Who. Touched. My. Stuff?" Hulk growled from the walkway overlooking the common room, holding up one of his glass figurines, causing Sam and Clint to look up worriedly at the angered Avenger.

Thor, flying in through the open window, laughed heartily. Everyone turned to look at him, and Hulk glared.

"Think this is funny, Goldilocks?" He snapped. "Go back to Asgard!"

"And what?" Thor asked. "Hang with a bunch of Vikings?" He smiled slightly. "No, I think I'll stay here, where I belong."

And as he looked at the Avengers gathered below him, he couldn't help but think of the Defenders. He remembered Snap and Sling, and Bullseye and the Black Bride, and he gave a barely audible sigh of contentment.

"Among friends.

Fin

 **A/N: Well that's all folks! Tell me what you thought, and point out any mistakes I made, too.**

 **I hope you enjoyed that, and please leave a comment if you can. Thanks for reading!**


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